Seroxat : ….”You can’t come off it… that’s the problem”..

On January 15th this year, on the eve of his 42nd birthday, DJ Jackson Cummings(right) jumped to his death from a multi-storey car park in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

At his inquest in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday, Jackson’s family blamed the SSRI antidepressantSeroxat for his death.

The court heard that, in the months beforehand, Jackson had scoured the Internet for cases of other people on Seroxat who were experiencing adverse symptoms. He had been taking the drug for 21 years, since he was prescribed it for anxiety while at university, but felt it was no longer working and wanted to give it up. His mother Viv said: “The effects had started to be worse than his anxiety. But you can’t come off it – that’s the problem.”

Jackson, who had been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), had a longstanding habit of altering the amount of medication he took without consulting doctors. His last contact with mental health services was the day before his death when he confided to having intermittent suicidal thoughts, but had no plans to act on them. He agreed to stay on his medication and was due to be assessed again in a few weeks.

Jackson’s family told the inquest that he had hardly slept for days, with his mother adding: “He was un-showered and unkempt, with a deep sense of hopelessness.”

Jackson’s father Tony raised their concerns about Seroxat, pointing out that it was banned for use by adolescents in the US. He said: “I just don’t want anybody else to go through what we’ve been through. This Seroxat must be stopped.”

Seroxat featured in a number of high-profile inquests and court cases, both in the UK and in the USA, in the earlier part of this century. Consequently, it is now prescribed very infrequently.

Even so, psychiatrist Dr Haroon Rashid, who saw Jackson the day before his death, told the inquest that there was “no evidence” that the antidepressant triggered suicidal ideation in adults.

North Staffordshire coroner Andrew Barkley (left) chose not to challenge this erroneous statement. Recording a conclusion of suicide, he said that it was a “concern” that Jackson was “making his own adjustments” to his medication. He added: “That is a significant risk in that it can give rise to a relapse.”

Reblogged this on Veteran 411 and commented:
It seems that may physicians today are lacking the gene to stand up and own their mistakes, to be ethical in their decision-making instead of financial-minded, to actually care about human life and to ensure medication available has been properly tested for side-effects & detrimental long-term problems associated with the medications before prescribing any to patients!

[ psychiatrist Dr Haroon Rashid, who saw Jackson the day before his death, told the inquest that there was “no evidence” that the antidepressant triggered suicidal ideation in adults.
coroner Andrew Barkley (left) said that it was a “concern” that Jackson was “making his own adjustments” to his medication. He added: “That is a significant risk in that it can give rise to a relapse.”]

All day today I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these two idiots and their disgraceful statements.
Question: How the heck do these doctors get to say such stupidly dangerous and ignorant things and still keep their jobs. In any other job they would be fired on the spot for making such lying statements. Why is there no accountability why is there no-one stepping in to say stop the lies. With all the evidence that’s out there it is just criminal these clowns are getting away with these statements.

Actually doctors have no idea about what or how adjustments should be made anyway. And if my doctor was anything to go by when I told him I wanted off the drug he simply said ‘okay just take as much of it as you like’

The FDA said back in 2005 that abrupt changes in dose can lead to suicidal thinking and behaviour. That’s the evidence right there Mr Rashid.

I fully agree. The Psychiatrist is just blatantly lying about side effects in adults, there is plenty of evidence – particularly around Seroxat- this blog alone has hundreds of examples and we’ve known about all this for decades now. The Coroners are also largely clueless. It is likely that Jackson was trying to wean himself off the poison. They really don’t have a clue when it comes to these meds, they are not experts, but they speak from a veil of professional costume (psychiatrist , coroner etc) so people take their nonsense seriously…